Kismet
by Illusionsfire76
Summary: A one-shot story about Garrus Vakarian and OC Kat & Gracyk a turian . This is not smut but just a short story written for an art exchange meme.


As the door to the drab apartment slid open, Gracyk was greeted by the usual assault of Kat's colorful insults as she attempted to fix one of the few guns they were able to bring with them to Illium. He barely had time to duck as a calibration meter whizzed through air, aimed directly at his head. Dodging it, he dropped a few packages as it sailed over his head and crashed into the wall behind him with a loud smack. Picking up the packages, he glared at the small human female across the room.

"What the hell, Kat?" he yelled at her, walking through the door.

"Stupid piece of crap!" she insulted the M-6 Carniflex pistol, throwing it on the workbench.

Gracyk shook his head and set the packages and bag on the nearby counter in the starkly plain kitchen. The apartment was spacious and that's all it was. There were no furnishings in it save for the refrigerating unit, a sink and heating unit in the kitchen. They had been on Illium nearly three months keeping a low profile and only bought things as they needed them. They took what they could grab when they left Omega which was a few guns, some explosives and all the credits they had between them. It wasn't much but they didn't have much time to plan their departure. Archangel had told them the merc gangs were after him and it wouldn't be long before their connection was exposed. Kat wanted to stay and Gracyk would've let her, knowing better than to argue with her. Whatever she wanted, she got and all be damned who got in her way. He may have been her best friend but he wasn't stupid. Archangel, on the other hand, wouldn't listen to one word Kat had to say about the matter. He was just as stubborn as she and, in the end, Kat had caved, an entirely uncharacteristic move. Gracyk knew the reason for her reluctant cooperation, but Archangel hadn't quite caught onto it. Sometimes he wanted to beat that vigilante senseless for being so damned oblivious to Kat's feelings for him.

A couple of weeks after they arrived, there was a broadcast on the news feeds that the infamous Archangel was dead, killed by the merc bands that teamed together to take him out. Kat was devastated and drank herself into oblivion. It was about a week before she even appeared sober. Since then, he'd stopped spending their credits on alcohol and started buying weapons instead. She needed a distraction and it was probably a good idea to set up shop here anyway. Sure, the asari ran the planet but as long as the contracts were worded right, how could they go wrong? For once, they might actually be legit, albeit a stretch of the term, and they wouldn't have to worry about Aria anymore. That alone was reason enough. Slowly, he began acquiring random weapons and setting up contacts. It had taken some time but now he felt that he had a solid lead on a client, and it was good time to get Kat out of the apartment and back into the swing of things again.

Putting the last of his purchases away, he listened to Kat swear at the poor firearm and pound out her frustration on the workbench. He took out two bottles of beer from the fridge, his and hers, and walked over to her. He set down her bottle and took a swig of his own.

"I think you need a break," he said bluntly.

"Fuck off," she retorted, grabbing the bottle and popping the top of with the ring on her finger.

"That was last night," he said lazily, taking another swig.

She snorted a chuckle, bringing the bottle to her lips and draining a third of it.

"Damn, really, Kat?" Gracyk quirked at a brow plate at her, watching her, "Come on, let's go to Eternity. I think you need to get out of here for a while."

She eyed him and considered the thought while draining another third of her bottle. She could see that he wasn't going to give up so she decided she may as well give in.

"Fine," she said, slamming down the bottle, "let's go."

She grabbed her smokes and headed for the door. Gracyk left his own bottle on the workbench and followed her out.

As they made their way to the bar, he filled her in on the potential client, a volus named Pitne For. Listening, she lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

"We are running out of credits, Kat, and if we don't do something soon, we're gonna end up working for the Suns," Gracyk finished.

"Oh, screw that shit," she grunted, exhaling a stream of smoke through her nose. "I'm not fuckin' workin' for nobody."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. So, unless you have a better idea, this is all we got right now."

The doors to the bar opened and they were both assaulted by the lame sounding music from within. They both groaned as they walked in. Omega may have been run by Aria but at the least the music was decent. Thankfully, Gracyk had set up the meeting in the empty room near the back of the bar and the walls provided a sufficient barrier against the horrific music. The asari waitress had just dropped off their drinks and they waited to see if this so-called client would actually show.

After about fifteen minutes or so, Kat and Gracyk were at the end of their patience.

"Fuck this Gracyk. You can tell your so-called client to go –" Kat started and then stopped short when the door opened and two well-armed Turians walked through. Each wore armor that had seen better days but still had a bit more use left in them.

One was slightly taller and had elaborate white clan markings that were stunning against his dark gray plates. The other had rich earthy brown plates with a simple lavender colored clan mark. One carried an M-96 Mattock and the other an M-300 Claymore and neither looked especially thrilled to be there. After scanning of the room and its two occupants, the taller one waved in someone on the other side. A small waddling little globe of a volus walked into the room. Kat snorted out a huge puff of smoke and barked out a laugh. Gracyk promptly jabbed her in the ribs and hissed at her. The waddling little ball walked further into the room wheezing the all the way. He finally came to a stop in front of them and sized up the odd duo on the couch; his wheezing becoming more even.

"Well," he wheezed, "you're certainly not what I was expecting."

"Ditto beach ball," deadpanned Kat.

"What?" the volus squeaked out.

"Nothing. What's the gig?" she said, getting to the point.

Pitne For shifted around the floor: his meager effort at pacing.

"I need you to get something back for me…" he began, "….a shipment from the Eclipse."

"The Eclipse?! Ya got any brains in that suit? Those are a bunch of psycho bitches!" squealed Kat, her pitch sending feedback through Gracyk's translator. He winced and shook his head, glaring at her.

"That's why I'm hiring you."

"What exactly are we getting back for you?" she eyed him over the rim of her drink.

"My, uhmm…associate sold the Eclipse sisters a modest shipment of red sand…..and some Minagen X3," he finished quickly.

"You know that crap can kill a biotic, right?" Gracyk pointed out.

"Yes, well the Eclipse discovered that part on their own. Apparently, my partner didn't think it was necessary to tell them and paid for that with his life," explained the volus shakily, his fear blatantly evident.

"So, let me guess," Kat interjected, "you want us to get it back for you before the Sisters shoot your roly-poly ass?"

_Roly-poly…._thought Gracyk, _what the hell is that?!_

The volus stopped pacing and looked at Kat.

"Yes."

"What's it worth to ya?"

"2,000 credits" Pitne For negotiated.

Gracyk nearly snorted out the swig he just took, "Hell no! We might be interested but we aren't stupid! 6,000 credits," he countered.

"That's _triple_ what I just said!" gasped the volus, "4,000 credits."

"Each," Gracyk quickly countered again.

"WHAT? That's more than what you said before!" Pitne For sputtered weakly.

"Yep. You're asking us to go into a den of crazy bitches to retrieve _your _toxic shit that could _kill_ us. I don't think a few extra credits are too much to ask for. Take it or leave it," Gracyk snarled.

The volus took a step back and bumped into one of his guards, nearly falling over. Kat snorted at the thought of the miniature planet falling over. She wondered how he would get up, figuring that's what he toted the guards around for. Otherwise, he would probably end up spinning endlessly on the floor somewhere.

"Fine," huffed the volus, caving when he saw no other alternative.

He turned to leave but was halted by two echoing grunts and the arming whine of a rifle. Turning back around, he saw his guards on the floor, out cold. Kat had armed the rifle, aiming it at his head while Gracyk cradled the Claymore.

"How about a little incentive?" she said sweetly. "Half the payment now and you can pay us the rest when you get your shit back."

Pitne For clicked open his omni-tool with an irritated grunt and reluctantly transferred the agreed amount to Gracyk's already open one.

Garrus got out of the shuttle with Shepard and Jack once it docked near the police station in Nos Astra. He was tired of Illium already, having seen way too much injustice in so short a time. As much as he loathed the bureaucracy of C-Sec, he still preferred the Citadel. The lawlessness of Omega pissed him off to no end but at least he was able to kick some ass. Illium just made him irritable. It didn't matter how illegal or unjust things were, if it was written the right way no one could do anything about it. What was the point of law enforcement anyway? To him, Illium was just a prettier version of Omega.

He listened as Shepard talked to the Detective about the Justicar they were looking for. He had heard about them while working at C-Sec but had never encountered one. Learning about the strict code they followed sounded something akin to Spectres but with a religious zeal. He could understand why Anaya was eager to be rid of the Justicar; she would be every cop's worst nightmare. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young rookie cop enter the station. She was pale and flustered, her pace quickening as she saw the detective. She stood on the edge of their conversation as Shepard thanked Anaya for her help. As they walked away, his turian hearing picked up their conversation.

"Detective!" panted the rookie. "There's been another murder!"

"Shhh!" shushed Anaya, reprimanding the rookie. "What are you talking about?"

"We found bloody boots in an incineration disposal container just outside the merc base," the rookie explained, lowering her voice. "We analyzed it and it came back to an asari named, Fiona – an Eclipse sister. We can't find the body though…."

"Clearly, whoever did it knew how to get rid of their trail," Anaya said thoughtfully. "Well, keep an eye out for any more evidence and let me know when you find the body. It's got to be in there somewhere. Maybe a revenge killing for something or Pitne For got a little help…?"

Gracyk quickly made his way back to their apartment, hoping that Kat would have the weapons ready to go. Her plan of impersonating one of the Eclipse was brilliant. They would never know it was her under the helmet. All he had to do was steal a uniform, but that was easier said than done. He figured he'd have to take it by force; they were Eclipse after all – committing murder to get one. He was right. He couldn't have planned it better when that merc walked into the room alone where he was hiding. All he had to do was knock her out and strip the uniform. Unfortunately, she didn't go down as easily as he had hoped but, luckily for him, the gun they fought over shot her and not him. It created a mess and he had to ditch his boots but at least he got the uniform.

He entered the apartment to find Kat checking their weapons; dressed in her blue bodysuit.

"About fucking time!" she said impatiently. "What did you do? Get laid first?"

"No," he growled, throwing the helmet at her and dropping the rest of the armor on the floor. "But, I'm going to after this shit."

She deftly caught it in one hand and threw the rifle at him with the other. She slipped the pieces on and snapped them into place while he examined the rifle, checking to make sure he had enough clips. Then, he set the rifle aside while he pulled on another pair of boots.

She picked up her gun and grabbed the helmet, heading for the door.

"Okay, so after I get into the warehouse I'm gonna get Pitne's shit and then radio you to meet me down in the storage area. You'll come in through the docking bay and help cart the shit onto the transport. If we move fast enough, they'll never even notice the crap's gone."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gracyk grunted, "we went over this already."

"Fine, see you on the other side, asshole," she grunted back and they split up.

He surveyed the area while Shepard talked to the volus called Pitne For. In comparison to Omega, it was about as exciting as a Hanar poetry reading. It would be the perfect place to lay low for a while; he briefly wondered if Kat and Gracyk had made it here. He made a note to himself to ask the Detective about the local crime. Shepard cracking her knuckles caught his attention and he took the datapad from her, looking over the passcard that would get them into the Eclipse base.

It didn't take them long to make their way through the entry area into the merc base. The Eclipse mercs were relentless and it didn't help that they had mechs at their disposal, as well. Once they had gotten rid of all the initial guards they entered a building and Shepard headed for the stairs. He put a hand on her arm to stop her. His acute hearing picked up faint breathing in a room near the base of the stairwell and gestured at the door. Shepard nodded her acknowledgment as he and Jack flanked the entry. She opened the door and walked inside, pausing in front of the streaming datafeed. He nodded at Shepard's motion for them to stay where they were and watched as she made the move to leave. That's when he heard the breathing become uneven and then Shepard heard the feet shift to stand up.

A young asari stood up, gun in hand, trying to convince Shepard to let her live. Inwardly, he smirked knowing that Shepard wasn't buying the crap the merc was trying desperately to sell. After taking care of ballsy merc, they searched the room for anything useful.

"Holy shit!" yelled Jack, backing up a step.

Garrus whipped around, rifle raised, trigger finger ready to take out the foul-mouthed biotic.

"Dammit, Jack!" he swore. "Do that again and you aren't going live long enough to see Pragia."

"Fuck off, lizard breath!" she retorted. "Check out the naked bitch I found under the desk."

"What?!" asked Shepard, walking toward Jack and the desk.

Together, the two women pulled out the naked blue body from under the desk. She had been stripped clean of her armor and bodysuit. Shepard flipped the body over revealing a battle worn Predator and a large pool of blood.

"Huh… odd…they left the gun behind but took her armor…" Shepard said, thinking aloud.

"Yeah, that's a little back-asswards," huffed Jack.

"We need to get moving. Anaya can figure this out on her own," ordered Shepard, moving toward the door again.

Something familiar nagged at him when he saw that naked dead asari. It was so out of place. Who would steal Eclipse armor? What would they want it for? He shook his head, pushing aside the thoughts. They would have to wait till later when he wasn't at threat of being shot at or blown up. Shepard noticed his preoccupation as they made their way to the storage area, taking out a solitary merc along the way.

"What's wrong, Garrus?"

"That stripped asari….reminds me of something…" he trailed off.

"One of your 'sparring' matches, lizard lips!?" yelled Jack.

"Jealous, Jack?" he snapped back.

Shepard paused, waiting for him to continue with his thought now that the coast was clear for the moment.

"It's okay, Shepard… just reminded of something from Omega, I think… just not sure what exactly," he said thoughtfully. "Don't worry about it. Let's take care of this mess and get the name of that damn ship."

She nodded and led the way into the shipping area going up the stairs for a better vantage point. He knew that he should follow her but something caught his attention down below. It looked like one of the asari mercs running for cover and he thought he saw her duck behind one of the containers. He went around the other side, pressing his body against the shipping container. He slid to the edge and craned his neck around the corner and brought the scope to his eye, trying to get a better fix on the merc. He saw her head dart out and his breath hitched in throat.

_NO! It couldn't be…..could it?_

The helmet it didn't fit quite right on her head, black hair flowing out the back and messily matting along the ridge of the collar. He moved in closer and caught her scent….._it was her!_ He would know that scent anywhere. He looked through the scope trying to see her again. Instead, he saw the head of a mech pop into view and without hesitation he pulled the trigger, watching the robot blow apart. More mechs were pouring into the storage area and he looked in the direction where Shepard went. The tip of her rifle peeked over the edge of the wall that enclosed the short stairwell and he could hear Jack on the other side mouthing off, pulling mercs off the edge and throwing them into the middle of the docking area. He took the opportunity to move further along the storage containers looking for source of that familiar scent.

Suddenly, amidst the gunfire he saw her head pop up again, but before he could make a move she spun violently out of view. Stunned, he stood there motionless, unsure of what to do. Disregarding everything that told him to stay where he was, he began moving towards her. Navigating the maze of containers, he found her slumped in a corner, a small pool of red blood collecting on the floor beneath her.

She groaned looking around trying to get her bearings.

"What the fuck - " She looked down. "Shit!" The pain from her side burned. She looked down at her body and swore again. "Dammit!" She put her hand on the wound to staunch the bleeding.

Suddenly she realized she wasn't alone, noticing the pair of boots next to her. Following the legs upward, she looked up and saw the armored body of a turian standing next to her.

"Gracyk?" she said weakly. She didn't radio him; what was he doing here already? The turian above her fell to his knees and looked at her. She didn't recognize his armor or the helmet he wore. Why was he so interested in her?

Her scent was unmistakable, _it was her!_ He couldn't see her face through the helmet but he knew it was her without a doubt. The gunfire was dying down and it seemed like Shepard and Jack had the situation well under control. He knelt beside her and put down his rifle. He reached for her helmet, needing to see that it was really her. Pulling off the helmet, her black hair fell out and splayed across her armor. She shook her head and looked him, her blue eyes wild and confused.

"Who the fuck are you?" she spit out, pain lacing the edge of her voice.

He chuckled and shook his head. Nothing about her had changed; she was still the same spitfire he remembered from Omega. He bent his head down, hands on either side of his helmet twisting it gently to unlock it. He pulled it off and set it next to him.

"Well that's one hell of a 'hello,'" he said with a smirk, turning to look at her.

She gasped, her face turning an unnatural shade of white. She couldn't believe it. Archangel… Garrus Vakarian?

_NO! He's dead! _

"Shit….." she whispered. "Archangel?"

He blinked at her in surprise. It had been a long time since he heard that name.

"What did you just call me?"

She swallowed hard against the pain in her side and repeated, "Archangel. You didn't think I figured it out, did you? Yeah well, I did. It wasn't that hard to put the pieces together, Garrus."

He snorted in response as he examined her looking for the source of the wound. She shifted, exposing her side and winced. Relieved that it was only a flesh wound, he applied some medi-gel and heard her hiss lightly in response. He checked over the rest of her to make sure that it was the only injury she suffered.

"They said you were dead…" she said softly, "I thought you were dead…"

He looked at her face again, their eyes locking together, and he saw the glassy pain and hurt that she was trying unsuccessfully to hide. She blinked and the tears she desperately tried to hold back rolled down her pale cheeks. She turned away, trying to hide her face knowing that he didn't feel the same way about her. It had taken so long for her to mourn him when she thought him dead. How could he not know that she was in love with him? Then he had sent them away, sent her away but she knew that he was right; staying on Omega wasn't safe.

He palmed her cheek, his thumb gently wiping her tears away and felt her lean into his hand.

"Kat….I…" he started, not really knowing how to continue.

He knew how she felt about him when they were on Omega but he didn't – couldn't – allow himself the luxury of such relationships. How could she not understand that? He knew it wasn't safe for her to love him. She would be a vulnerability, a weakness he couldn't afford. He wouldn't allow that – wouldn't allow her to put her life on the line for him. After he sent her and Gracyk to Illium, it hit him hard just how much he cared about her. There wasn't one day that went by that he didn't think about her and wonder whether or not she was safe….alive. He finally had to admit the truth to himself. He loved her. He loved everything about her – her passion, fire, and spark – even her foul-mouthed temper.

He was about to complete his thought when Shepard spoke over the radio.

"Garrus! Where the hell are you?!" she called, alarmed.

"I'm okay, Shepard! I'm down here below you," he radioed back.

"Fuck, Garrus! What are you doing, getting laid?!" Jack yelled across the open warehouse.

He palmed his face as he heard Kat snort out a painful laugh. He put an arm under hers, wrapping his hand around the space just above her waist and supporting her weight. She wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into him, and slowly pulled her body up as he rose with her. They turned together and he helped her hobble out into the open space of the warehouse near the loading area. They paused, trying to decide which direction to go, when from the left he saw Shepard approaching, followed by Jack, and Shepard did not look at all pleased. Kat looked to the right and saw Gracyk half running, half walking toward them.

The five of them came together, Shepard and Jack sizing up the newly arrived turian and strange petite female in Garrus' arms. Gracyk returned his own assessing glare of the two humans but was more surprised by Garrus' presence.

"Garrus!?" he trilled out in surprise.

The scarred turian hummed out a confirming greeting in return, "Gracyk."

"Garrus, do you know these two?" Shepard asked, confused by his familiarity with the duo.

"Yeah," he grunted, still supporting Kat's weight, "we know each other from Omega."

"Yeah, yeah, okay fine what-the-fuck-ever," huffed Jack. "Are you done playing with the human, Garrus? We need to get the fuck outta here."

"Jack's right," Shepard agreed. "We need to get the name of that ship before that Justicar becomes a problem."

He knew that Shepard was right but he also wanted to finish his conversation with Kat. Torn between the two, he paused, trying to make his decision. Gracyk, seeing his indecision, leaned in and took Kat from him.

"Don't worry, Garrus," he grunted taking her full weight. "You know I'll take her to the clinic."

Garrus trilled out his appreciation and nodded, "I'll come find you."

They left the police station with the Justicar, their mission accomplished. He looked at Shepard and she nodded at him knowing where he was going.

"Don't take too long," the commander said, "we still have a lot to do and I want to ship out soon."

"Thank you, Shepard," he hummed gratefully. This was the second time that she'd let him take care of something of a personal nature. The gesture was not lost on him whatsoever.

He caught a transit to the medical clinic, hoping that she was still there and thinking about what to say to her. He was on a suicide mission and he wasn't going to miss out on this opportunity to finally set things right between them. After finding out which room she was in, he made his down the maze of hallways until his saw Gracyk standing outside a room that he assumed was hers.

"Garrus," Gracyk said stiffly, his undertones trilling out a warning.

"Gracyk," he replied back, confused but genuinely worried. "How is she?"

"She's fine," he said shortly. "Just a flesh wound, nothing serious. Won't take long to heal."

"Oh, thank the Spirits," Garrus said, relieved. "Then what's the problem, Gracyk?"

"Don't fuck with her, Garrus," Gracyk snarled at him. "I'm not oblivious to her feelings like you. How could you not know that she was in love with you? She saw the news feed about your death. It hit her hard, Garrus. Really hard." He paused shaking his head. He looked at Garrus and stalked him against the wall. "I am _not_ watching her go through that… _again._"

The two turians face to face, inches apart, were an intimidating sight. Garrus got the message loud and clear and slightly bowed his head in defeat. He knew that Gracyk was right.

"I did it to protect her, to protect you both. You knew it wasn't safe for either one of you to be there," he said simply. "The situation was my fault and for that I am sorry."

Gracyk backed off, turning away to look through the window at the small, softly sleeping, petite form, jet black hair splayed across the pillow. He sighed heavily.

"She was devastated," he began. "It was at least a week before she was sober and a hell of a lot longer before she began to be herself again." He turned to Garrus one last time, emerald green locking into ice blue, making his message clear. "Be careful what you say to her. I don't know if I can put her back together again."

With that, he walked away down hall, leaving the vigilante staring through the clear glass.

Garrus watched her sleep, trying to decide what to say to her. He knew he couldn't leave things undone or unsaid now, but he knew he couldn't stay either. He crossed his arms in front on his chest and sank into a hip, thinking. The situation on Omega was precarious at best; the repercussions of his brand of justice were far reaching. He didn't realize how far reaching until Gracyk told him that no one would hire them because of their association with Archangel. It really hit home the day that the Suns used Kat and Gracyk's base of operations as a shooting gallery. That was the day he told Kat and Gracyk to leave. The look in Kat's eyes wrenched his heart; he wasn't prepared for that. Suddenly, he realized there was another reason he was sending her away but it was one he couldn't tell her.

Now the Spirits had given him one more chance to see her again, and he wasn't about to let that opportunity be wasted. He approached the door and it slid open, allowing him entry. He silently approached her bed and sat in the nearby chair, pulling it closer to the bed. Gently, he pulled the stray hairs away from her eyes, running his taloned fingers through her hair. She stirred, slowly opening her eyes, and gasped as his face came into focus. It was still a shock to her that he was alive.

"Garrus..?" she said, her voice cracking.

"Hi, Kat…" he replied softly.

"It's really you….you're not…." she trailed off, unable to say the words again.

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "It's me and no, I'm not."

She breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly felt angry, angry and hurt that he had never sent her a message that he was alive. The hurt twisted her heart and she felt the anger grow, burning and pulsing through her veins. Suddenly her arm was moving, drawing back, and her hand connected hard with the side of his face.

"_You asshole!" _she seethed, "_You let me believe you were dead!"_

The loud smack reverberated around the small room as his head snapped sharply to the left, his vision spinning wildly.

"I deserved that," he grunted, his hand rubbing the now sore mandible.

"You could have –" she broke off, staring at the floor, unable to look at him.

She felt his finger under her chin, lifting her head to look at him. Feeling the tears prick her eyelids, she closed them, trying to hold them in. Suddenly, she felt the cool, malleable plates of his mouth on hers, the tip of his tongue softly gliding along her lips. She opened her mouth, allowing him entry. She felt his gentle roughness against her smoothness as she kissed him back. He broke away and nuzzled forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.


End file.
